The Blue Beetle
by Stutley Constable
Summary: One of Harry's cases from the POV of the Blue Beetle. Takes place between Grave Peril and Summer Knight.
1. Chapter 1

**Legal Note:** I do not own any of the characters associated with The Dresden Files. I do not have any legal right to use them or any other proprietary words originating from these books. This story was done just for the fun of it. Not for profit. If you like it please tell me. If you don't like it please tell me why with particulars but not excessive detail. Any one who wants to rip on my style or me just to make them self feel better is really only polishing their wand and their statements will receive the due amount of interest (i.e. NONE). And finally before any one brings it up: I do know my punctuation stinks. I just don't care.

**Summary: **One of Harry's cases from the POV of the Blue Beetle

**The Blue Beetle**

The Blue Beetle sat in the gravel outside Dresden's apartment building. The rain was coming down in a light drizzle but in the distance there was lightning over the lake. Something was stirring in the air and he could tell that tonight might get interesting. Yep. He was right. Harry came up his stairs in his leather duster and trotted through the rain to the driver's side. Opening the door he got in quick and slammed it a little too hard.

"Ouch! Hey boss take it easy there." The Beetle waited for a response. And waited. "Still can't hear me huh?"

The key slipped into the ignition and Harry pumped the gas a couple times before turning it. With a wheeze and a cough the engine turned over and the car started.

"Look, boss, I know we've got to go places tonight." the Beetle said. "But could you take it easy? My tires are a little on the bald side."

Harry slipped the shifter into reverse and backed onto the street.

"Watch it! Watch it!" The Beetle screamed as Harry nearly ran over the trash cans. "I really wish you'd take the time to actually look where we're headed. Speaking of... Where are we going?"

Harry didn't acknowledge the question. He slipped the shifter into drive and took off. The wiper blades slapped time as they cruised down the street a little faster than the posted limit. The Beetle noted various other cars as they went by.

"When are you gonna' let Bob out again?" The Beetle asked. "He's the only one who talks to me. And there's a new dog in the neighborhood that thinks I'm a fire hydrant. Couldn't you like put some kinda spell on me so they wouldn't do that? I mean I'm rusty enough. Blue lights! Blue lights! Slow down!"

Harry had seen the lights too but he wasn't slowing down. He was heading for them. There were three police cars nosing the curb in front of a small office suite and a couple of cops standing around in rain coats putting up yellow tape.

"Oh. Another one of these. Hey that one's pretty cute for a Ford. I always like a girl in uniform." The Beetle was eyeing the nearest cop car as Dresden rolled up. "So I'll just wait here then."

Dresden got out of the car and flashed his card to the cops as he went inside through the glass door. The Blue Beetle waited.

"So you come here often?" He asked the cop car. No response. "I'm with the guy in the black coat. He's a wizard you know. Ever met a wizard before?"

The cop car continued to sit with its blue lights going.

"The quiet type eh?" The Blue Beetle smiled. Well sort of. "I do this stuff all the time but I ain't never seen you before. Been on the force long?"

More silence.

"What is it? The doors? The hood?" The Beetle waited again. Then gave up. She wasn't a talker. There were a few talkers around. Most of the ones the Beetle had met were usually outside McAnally's. Most of them belonged to other people like Harry. Well something like Harry. They weren't actual White Council level practitioners. Never the less they did give off enough residual energy to... lets call it awaken their cars. Most cop cars didn't awaken. They normally were put out to pasture before they could. The Blue Beetle had only met one and it was an old veteran on the outskirts of town where they weren't quite so hard on their vehicles.

Dresden came out of the office a little green around the gills. Murphy was with him and she looked a little distressed too. Something was up.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"I don't know, Murph." Harry was saying. "This might not be in my field. Might just be a series of accidents."

"But you will check into it." It wasn't a question. Murphy was telling. Usually when Murphy told Dresden something it meant it was serious.

"Yeah, Murph. I'll look into it." Harry watched Murphy go back into the office then turned toward the beetle.

"So what's going on, boss?" The beetle asked. Harry paid no attention. Dresden got in and started the engine. With another cough and a few sputters the old car came to life. Well, sort of. Dresden eased the shifter into reverse and they backed around in a J that aimed them back the way they had come. Harry drove home and left the Beetle in its usual spot in the gravel. Rain continued to come down and as Harry opened the door to the apartment Mister body blocked him across the shins then darted away from his grasp. The cat paused long enough to throw a wicked glare at the sky and then shot over to the Blue Beetle. The cat rubbed his head on the front bumper.

"Hey there, Mister." The Beetle greeted the big, bob tailed tomcat. "How's it goin' tonight?"

Mister considered the Beetle a moment then slipped under the fender to watch cars drive by on the street.

"At least you can hear me." The Beetle grumbled. "Wish you could talk." The Beetle was aware of the look the grey tom gave him. Mister was a wizards pet but not actually a familiar. The closest Mister ever came to that was when Bob the Skull occupied him to go exploring in daylight hours. Bob was a spirit of intellect and could be harmed or even killed by the light of the sun. Briefly the Beetle wondered why moonlight didn't bother Bob. It was, after all, just reflected sunlight. He decided he would ask Bob the next time they spoke. Under him Mister stirred. From the basement stairs Harry emerged into the parking lot. He gave a brief look around and spied the cat hunched under the old car. Harry took a step toward the two and Mister rose to make his way toward the human. He waited for Harry to get all the way to the car before stepping out where Dresden could get a hand under him and pick the thirty pound cat up.

"I need you to take Bob out for a while. It'll be daylight soon and I don't want him..." Harry's voice was cut off as he closed the apartment's armored door. The Blue Beetle sat there and wondered what was going on. It hadn't been that long ago that he'd been nothing more than a construct of metal, rubber, plastic and wood but his consciousness had drawn from those years before his awakening and knew a thing or two about Dresden and his work. If Harry was sending Bob out to gather information this early in the case it meant there was a good chance that Harry at least suspected there was more to it than he'd told Karrin Murphy. What that was remained to be seen.

Dim light flowed out from the basement apartment and a moment later Mister appeared at the top of the stairs. The cat's head turned back and forth a few times then he dashed over to shelter once more under the Beetle's bulk.

"Hi ya', Blue." Bob the Skull's voice came from the cat.

"Bob! Man it's great to actually talk to someone that can talk to me!" The Blue Beetle said with sheer joy. "What's Harry got you doing this time?"

"I'm supposed to nose around down by the crime scene the two of you just came from." Bob said as he peered from under the Beetle. "He said there was a strange feel to the place. He couldn't pin it down exactly but he didn't think it was from an outside source. He said it might be something the cops would miss. Did you get a look into the office where it happened?"

"Parked at the wrong angle. Sorry, Bob." The Beetle replied. "I did talk to a really cute cop car though."

"Yeah?" Bob's voice held a not of lascivious interest.

"She wasn't a talker." The Beetle kept the note of disappointment out of his voice as best he could. "At least she was cute though."

"Well, keep trying, Blue." Bob encouraged the old car. "You'll find a nice one some day."

"Probably right before I go into the compactor." The Beetle paused but drew up his courage for the next question. "Bob, what will happen to me if I break down for good?"

"I'm not exactly sure, Blue." Bob's voice was gentle. He liked the spirit of the car and didn't want to lie to him. "I think you might break free from the construct. But..."

"But I might just stop existing too." The Beetle said quietly.

"You might. I think it depends on how strong you are." There was a long pause before Bob went on. "I tell you what, Blue. I'll put some thought into it and see what I can come up with. Maybe I can figure out a way for Harry to hear you."

"Why don't you just tell him I'm here?"

"It's not that simple." Bob said. "It's complicated by a lot of rules that govern spirits. What we can and can't say to mortals and the fae. I can help you but I can't influence Harry directly in this. I'll talk to you later. Don't let it get you down alright?"

"Alright, Bob." The Beetle watched Mister trot off into the rain. "Be careful!"

* * *


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The rain was still coming down. It was pretty late. Maybe pretty early. It depends on how you view things. At any rate the Beetle came out of the drowse he'd drifted into and it was still dark. Something had disturbed his dreams of a '64 Thunderbird. She'd been candy apple red and had mag wheels. He always liked a girl with nice wheels. The Beetle had noticed movement but he couldn't see what it was. He knew something was out there in the dark. It was a shadow among shadows. He looked around and debated on trying to turn on his lights but thought better of it. If he got them on and then couldn't switch them off again he'd pass out until Harry could get a jump. And if he did that then he'd lose track of whatever this thing was.

There! Right there by one of the windows into Dresden's apartment was a small figure crouching down to peer in. It looked like a kid maybe. But if it was it wasn't a normal child. The paranormal signature was pretty strong here. The Beetle rated things by their aura and this one was middling big for its mass. It stood and looked around. Damn! It looked like an old man. Red sports jacket of some kind and a red ball cap. Moving swiftly the little old man went to the head of Dresden's steps and pulled something shinny from his pocket and placed it deliberately on the edge of the gravel. Then he slipped off down the street and disappeared in the night.

The Beetle kept looking at the spot where the shinny thing was but he could see very little except the occasional glint of light from metal. What the hell? About an hour later Bob came back.

"Hi ya, Blue," Bob's voice came from the cat. "What a weird scene that was."

"Bob I need to tell you something," the Beetle said urgently.

"Don't have time right now, Blue," Bob said as he trotted on by. "Harry wants this information right away."

"But, Bob, it's right there!" the Beetle shouted. Well sort of.

"Okay. I'll check it out later," Bob in Mister trotted down the stairs where the cat yowled loudly.

"Bob! Damn it!" the Beetle sat frustrated in the misting rain as the door to the apartment opened and then closed. "He can hear me but won't listen. Now what?"

Several hours after dawn Harry emerged from his apartment and trotted out to the Beetle. He slipped in behind the wheel and put the key in the ignition. The old car woke to the feel of his gas peddle being pumped.

"Harry!" the Beetle yelled trying to be heard. It was no good. "Damn it! I hope you saw whatever that was by the steps. I don't think it's anything good."

Dresden turned the key in the ignition and the Beetle coughed and rattled to life. Sort of. Dropping the car into reverse Harry rolled out onto the street and pointed it toward the CPD.

"Going to see Murphy are we?" The Beetle asked. He was in a lousy mood. The rain had cleaned the bird droppings off his roof and hood but it had leaked into the back seat and he could feel the cold wet spot. He knew in a few hours the whole interior would smell like a wet dog.

The trip to CPD didn't take long and Dresden found a spot just down from the doors to the old building that housed the Special Investigations Unit of the Chicago Police Department. Harry got out and not bothering to lock the door he strode down the sidewalk to the front door. The Blue Beetle sat patiently brooding over what he had seen the night before. What was that thing that had dropped whatever it was it had dropped? People that snuck around in the shadows usually meant no good for anyone. The Beetle was convinced that what it had dropped at the head of Harry's steps was bad. He had no idea what it actually was but it couldn't be good. He looked up to see Harry returning with Karrin Murphy at his side. They were talking and Murphy's face indicated she wasn't in the best of moods.

"...all that I know," Murphy was saying as they came close enough for the Beetle to hear. "Wilson, Ritchey, Colly, O'Hair. All four of them had only one thing in common."

"This bookie that you can't find," Dresden said as they came to a stop.

"Right," Murphy said. "We know he runs a numbers racket and takes bets on just about everything. The Bears, the Bulls, college games, and anything else that people gamble on."

"Do you know where he operates out of?" Dresden asked.

"Doesn't have a fixed location," Murphy told him. "Up until recently he's been strictly small time. About three months ago he starts hitting some big winners. He's betting on things and taking long odds and it pans out for him. He starts taking steeper bets from his clients and they start hitting big. Marcone can't be happy."

"So you think Gentleman Johnny is offing these guys?" Dresden scratched his chin and scowled at the concrete. "Marcone usually operates more discretely. I can't remember the last time he left a body where it could be found.

"That's what has me thinking it isn't Marcone. I think somebody was making a move on his rackets and this bookie was a front man. Marcone gets wind of it and the people backing the bookie started taking out the links that would lead back to them," Murphy explained. "I think it's likely that whoever it was that killed these poor slobs was covering his tracks and maybe took out the bookie too."

"What's this guys name again?"

Murphy snorted. "Charlie 'The Pinch' Malone,"

"The Pinch?" Dresden's wry smile made his eyes twinkle under his dark brows. The Beetle wondered who the hell would go by 'The Pinch'.

"No idea why they call him that," Murphy was smiling now too. For a human she was really cute. The smile made her even cuter. "Last we heard he was down near the docks. Had a place in the back of a garage but he cleared out of there a couple days ago and nobody knows where he's gone to."

"All right, Murph," Dresden said as he pulled out his keys. "I'll see what I can dig up."

"These aren't nice people, Harry," Murphy said putting a hand on his arm. "Be careful. You see anything or hear anything I want you to call me. No lone wolf crap. I.A. has it's nose in the air again. Some of my people laid bets with this guy now and then. And I don't want to be putting up yellow tape around your apartment door."

Harry covered her hand with his and the Beetle notice again how their eyes flicked towards each other.

"Boss, you really need to ask her out some time," the Beetle said as loudly as he could muster. Dresden of course paid no attention and got in the car. They left Murphy standing on the sidewalk as they headed north to the docks.

* * *


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Boss, why exactly do you think this is a GOOD place to park?" the Blue Beetle wondered aloud. Sort of. "I know I'm out of sight here and all but for crying out Pete's sake! I'm practically blocked in. You could have put me on the street somewhere. Hell! Park me in front of that fire hydrant. It's not like anyone would care."

Dresden ignored the Beetle as he slipped his .44 into his duster's pocket. The beetle briefly reflected that those pockets had to be huge for the gun to disappear so completely. It made him wonder if harry had enchanted the coat so that the pockets would hold anything that would slip through the open flap.

"Let me guess," continued the Beetle. "You're going in to that old garage and ask if they know The Pinch. It's okay. You can tell me."

"Now to go ask if anyone knows The Pinch," Harry mumbled as he opened the driver's door. Dresden half turned as he closed it softly so as to avoid attracting undue attention.

"I... Hey you didn't just hear me did you?" the Beetle waited for a response but none came. "I didn't think so."

Harry drifted down the sidewalk a few paces and entered the service door to the garage bay. The Beetle waited. He looked at the six foot high wooden fence in front of him. The boards were old and had not been painted since Truman had been president. Actually that wasn't true. They were covered in graffiti. He was casually reading some of the more creative things when he noticed a couple of skinny kids in T-shirts slip down the alley next to him. They were carrying gym bags and snickering to each other.

"Yeah, kids, I'm a funny looking old car," the Beetle growled inaudibly. "Beat it! Shouldn't you be in school or something?"

As the Beetle watched one of the teens reached into his bag and came out with a spray can. They both started laughing uncontrollably as the paint misted onto the Beetle's hood.

"You son of a BITCH!" the Beetle roared. He was furious. If his engine had been running he would have driven over them until they were nothing but grease spots. As it was he could do nothing but endure. Or could he? Taking a page from Harry's book the Beetle reached down and touched the fury that boiled somewhere near his alternator. He focused the anger into a tool and when ready he released it just as the kids were bending over in juvenile glee at their vandalism. Click! The hood sprang up with enough force that it caught them both in the skull. The one with the paint can took the brunt of the blow and went down in a loose kneed tumble while the other staggered back with his hand to his head. As they regained their feet the youths shot angry but wary looks at the Beetle and moved off.

"That's RIGHT!" the Beetle roared in triumph. "Pick on someone your own size next time. Punks!"

Just about then a sound like a bomb going off followed by shattering glass sobered the Beetle. The office window of the garage blew out onto the street and the fragments of glass had not stopped tinkling before Dresden dove onto the sidewalk. He threw up his left hand and bullets bounced off his shield. His blasting rod came up and the Beetle felt the energy around him get drawn to the weapon's tip. Harry breathed a word and a column of flame flashed from the rod into the building. Dresden immediately turned to his old car doing a double take as he saw the hood up and the number fifty-three painted on it. Cursing he rounded the front slamming down the hood as he passed to get to the driver's door.

"Son of a BITCH!" Dresden cursed as he slid behind the wheel. "Lousy punks should be in school or something."

"That's what I said," agreed the Beetle.

"Hope nobody was behind that counter," Dresden turned the key and as the old engine came gamely to life he slipped the shifter into reverse and tore out onto the street. Behind them the garage burned and people shouted. "Man I'm hard on buildings. What's that? Four this year?"

"Technically only three." the Beetle said still pleased with himself. "Buildings in another state don't count."

* * *

Later Murphy sat in the passenger seat as she waited for Dresden to return with their hot dogs from a street vendor.

"Yeah, Murph, you shoulda been there," the Beetle laughed. Sort of. "They were all bent over like it was the funniest thing they'd ever seen and next thing they know they're staggering around like a sailor two hours into shore leave. It was just beautiful."

Murphy fiddle with the dial on the radio. She'd switched the ignition over but the radio stubbornly refused to do anything but emit the occasional spit of static. Mostly the speakers remained silent. She gave up and switched it off when Harry arrived with the hot dogs.

"What's with the fifty-three on the hood?" Karrin asked taking one of the dogs and the soda Dresden handed to her.

Dresden scowled. He was good at that. He was good at brooding too. The Beetle wondered if that was part of wizard training.

"Sore subject?" Karrin asked before she took a bite from her hot dog.

"Happened when I went down to that garage you told me about." Dresden said around a mouthful of food. "I saw a couple of kids staggering away when I came out. They must have jimmied the lock or something."

"Did they set fire to that garage too?" Murphy's tone was dry and amused.

"That wasn't my fault." Dresden scowled again. "They pulled the guns first."

"What's that? Four this year?" she asked innocently.

"No," Dresden grumped. "Out of state ones don't count."

"So tell me what you learned." Karrin couldn't hide her smile so she stuffed more hot dog in her mouth.

"They knew where he was but they weren't going to tell me." Harry replied taking a sip from his Coke. "God that's good."

"You know this or think this?" Karrin asked then took a sip of her own soda.

"Pretty certain," Harry said. "Just the way they acted when I brought up placing a bet. Then when I didn't want to just tell one of the guys there they got weird. Moved around so that I was hemmed in."

"Is that when you set the building on fire?" Murphy asked her eyes dancing.

"If you must know," Harry responded in a surly voice. "That's when I blew the window out. Actually I did that after a couple of them pulled guns."

"And then you burned their building down."

"Well... It gave them something more immediate to worry about than me." Dresden chuckled.

"I did tell you to be careful." Murphy said seriously.

"I was careful."

"I want to see your dictionary." Murphy said.

"My dictionary?"

"Yeah," Karrin finished her hot dog. "I just want to make sure it has the same definition of careful that mine does."

"Murph, I'm fine. Nothing I couldn't handle," Dresden swallowed the last of his Coke. "It'll take more than a couple of low rent goons to get me."

"I'm just saying, Harry," Karrin patted his arm.

"Ask her out now, boss," the Beetle put in. "Any time they touch you it's a good sign."

"What's your next move?" she asked.

"I'm going home and getting a nap. I was up most of the night."

"You know you're an idiot," the Beetle grumbled.

Murphy got out of the car and smacked the roof in goodbye. She turned and strolled the half block back to CPD and Dresden drove the Beetle back to Mid-Town and his apartment.

* * *


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Harry apparently wasn't ready for a nap just yet. Instead of going straight home he made a detour to McAnaly's Pub. The Beetle didn't mind this. Chances were good that he would be able to actually talk to someone for a change. Several of the regulars at Mac's had cars that were like the Beetle if somewhat better cared for. Most of them were slightly newer models but none of them was actually driven by a wizard of the White Council. This gave Blue some status amongst them which he enjoyed. He did make a point to never presume on it though. Like Harry he felt he was just a regular Joe. Also like Harry the Beetle was rarely shown any respect and he didn't want to lose what he did get.

"Hey there Party Barge!" The Blue Beetle said as they pulled into the small lot next to the pub.

"Yeah! Hi Blue!" Party Barge called back. He was a big old Cadillac owned by a small time alchemist that frequented the establishment. "How've you been?"

"I'd complain but it wouldn't do me any good." the Beetle said good naturedly. "What have you been up to lately?"

"Nothing special. Carson is getting older you know. He don't go out so much these days," the old Caddy said. "Where'd you pick up the new paint job?"

"Ha!" Growled the Beetle. "Couple of punks thought they'd get the better of me."

"Looks like they did," observed Party.

"Well they're the ones with the bruises," laughed the Beetle. He proceeded to tell the tale of his graffiti adventure as Harry got out and went down the steps into the old pub.

"Wow! I can't believe you were able to actually do that," Party was impressed. "So Harry's on a case?"

"Yeah. Something weird with it," the Beetle related what he'd seen the night before. How the little old man had been looking into the window and then dropped whatever it was where Harry was likely to find it.

"What do you think it was?" Party Barge asked.

"Not sure, Party," said the Beetle. "Looked like a coin maybe. But it could be just about anything small."

"Wouldn't Harry have noticed some kind of magic?" Party Barge asked.

"I would think so. But I don't really know what it is. Could be something that is just like a marker," mused the old Volks Wagon. "If you want to track somebody you have to make a connection. Usually a wizard does that with some item taken from the person you want to track down."

"Yeah. I understand how that works," said Party Barge. "Carson doesn't have any talent for that sort of thing though."

"Well there's another way to follow somebody's movements," the Beetle continued. "If you can plant something on the person then you can track whatever it is. As long as they keep it on their person then you can tell where they are."

"So this guy drops whatever it was and hopes Harry picks it up."

"Exactly," said the Beetle with a smile.

"But what happens if someone other than Harry picks it up?" Party asked reasonably. "I mean there are other people living in that old house. What if one of them picks it up?"

"Obviously they would be the ones getting tracked in stead of Harry," the Beetle frowned. "Unless this thing is made so that only Harry will pick it up. Or maybe the thing activates somehow when Harry touches it."

"Seems like an awful lot of trouble to go through for uncertain results," said Party Barge.

"Yeah," the Beetle mulled this over a moment. "It's a little out of my field. Mostly I just take Harry where he wants to go and get shot at or run into and stuff."

"Better you than me, Blue," smiled Party. "Carson was working on that lead to gold thing for a couple of years and he kept buying different coins to examine them. I don't know what he ever found. I do remember him picking up a penny once and saying it was his lucky day. Not much else that I know of."

"Hhmmnn..." said the Beetle. "A lucky coin?"

"Yeah," Party said. "Carson said something to himself about putting it in his shoe and having luck the rest of the day. Mean something to you?"

"Not to me. It might to someone I know," the Beetle said filing it away for his next conversation with Bob. The two old cars moved on to other topics and did some catching up. Harry came out of the pub about an hour later looking more satisfied after a dinner and a couple of the dark ales Mac prided himself on so much. The Beetle said his goodbyes and they drove off for home.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

As they pulled into the street where Harry's apartment house was Blue caught sight of a limo parked at the curb.

"Shit." the Beetle said.

"Shit." Harry said.

They pulled into the gravel lot and came to a stop. Blue could feel Harry draw in some will as he got out of the car. The driver's side door of the limo opened and a man mountain Blue had seen a few times climbed out. Cujo Hendricks looked like a pro football player gone bad. Big, red headed and tough were three words to describe him. Blue could think of a few others but those would do for getting on with.

"Mr. Marcone wants to talk to you," Cujo said.

"Hi, Hendricks. Nice to see you again," Harry lied.

"Mr. Marcone wants to talk to you," Cujo said.

"So let him talk," It wasn't the wittiest retort but Harry had had a long day and little sleep.

"Watch him, boss," Blue said knowing that he wouldn't be heard.

"Get in the car, Dresden," Cujo's conversation skills were improving even if his diplomacy was still rough.

"Make me," Harry stuck out his chin in defiance. For answer Hendricks came around the car. He stopped a few paces from Harry glowering at him. It might have been more impressive if he hadn't had to look up into Dresden's face but Hendricks was a big man and it didn't seem to bother him. Maybe he just didn't know.

"Why don't you ask your boss if he wants to be cleaning your blood off his shiny paint job," Harry prodded.

"I know you can't kill me with magic," Hendricks growled.

"You'd be surprised at what you can live through," Harry growled back. Hendricks seemed to consider that for a moment. He was saved from having to make a decision that would affect the rest of his life by Gentleman Johnny Marcone. The back door of the limo opened and out stepped a man in his fifties. Dressed in an expensive suite with a boater's tan John Marcone looked more like a college basketball coach than the most powerful man in Chicago's underworld.

"Think his team will make it to the finals?" the Beetle snorted.

"That's alright, Mr. Hendricks. I can say what needs to be said in the open," Marcone said as he strolled across the gravel to where the goon and the wizard faced off. "Good afternoon, Mr. dresden."

"Marcone," Harry nodded to the crime lord without taking his eyes off Hendricks.

"Give us a moment, Mr. Hendricks," Marcone told his bodyguard. The big man stepped back a few paces and went still. "I understand you paid a visit to a certain garage today. That was ill advised."

"I just wanted to get a bet down," Harry smiled ingenuously.

"Mr. Dresden," Marcone's smile didn't reach his eyes. "The matter you are investigating has nothing to do with you. I would regret it if something untoward were to occur. This is a matter internal to my affairs."

"People are dying, John," Harry said. "Magic is involved."

"People die every day," Marcone looked Dresden in the eyes. He could do that safely whereas most other people couldn't. "Please keep that in mind, Mr. Dresden. Let me handle this."

"If I let you handle it, John, more people will die."

"What makes you think magic is involved?" Marcone wanted to know.

Harry squinted at the mobster. "If it weren't you wouldn't be here asking these questions right now. I've seen the crime scenes, John. I've read the reports from the coroners office."

"Freak accidents happen," Marcone said with a gentle, fatherly smile.

"Four freak accidents in a row don't happen," Harry returned the smile. "All four of those guys made a lot of money on bets they laid with your bookie. Now they're dead. I don't think you killed them but I do think you have an idea about who did."

Marcone considered that for a moment. He pulled a small notebook from his breast pocket and with a very nice pen scribbled something on one of the pages, "There's something you will want to see at this address. I recommend that you get there soon."

"What's there?" Harry asked taking the note and glancing at it.

"Something you will want to see." Marcone's money colored eyes showed a little amusement just as he turned to go back to his car. Hendricks stepped to the door and held it open while the mobster got in.

"What the hell was that about?" Blue wondered as he watched the limo drive off. He couldn't help but notice how nice its wheels were but he didn't care for girls that had been stretched. It just wasn't natural.

Harry looked at the note again then turned to go into his apartment. As he got to the top step he paused.

"That's it!" shouted Blue.

Dresden bent down and picked a small object out of the grass next to the step. He held it up close to his eyes. Even at this distance the Beetle could tell it was a coin. Smiling Dresden flipped it in the air, caught it and shoved it into his pocket.

"Man I hope that wasn't a mistake," Blue said worried. He still had a lot of misgivings about what he'd seen the night before. What the thing was that had placed the coin where Dresden could find it was still bothering him. He really wanted to talk to Bob. The Skull would know what it was. He'd be able to warn Harry. The problem was that Harry rarely let Bob out. That was probably a good thing. Blue had seen Bob come back from a couple of his furloughs. If a non-corporeal being could stagger that's what Bob would have been doing.

Harry returned a few minutes later with his big gym bag over one shoulder and his staff in hand. Blue knew the bag would contain Harry's shotgun. Harry popped the hood for the trunk and set the bag inside. He slid his staff between the seats as he got in and they were off a minute later.

Their destination turned out to be a five story apartment building that had seen better days but was in fair shape all things considered. Dresden found a spot across the street and got out. He jaywalked to the stoop and went inside. Blue had been waiting quietly for a few minutes when suddenly gunfire broke out. His attention was instantly riveted on the apartment building. He saw a figure emerge onto the fire escape down the alley and half slide half fall down the iron framework. There was something really odd about it. Humans didn't have heads that size. Humans didn't have heads that shape either.

"What the fu..." Blue breathed astonished.

Whatever it was hit the pavement hard, fell, bounced up and ran down the alley away from the street. Dresden came out of the window where the thing had emerged and stormed down the fire escape. Dresden was in good shape. Blue knew that he'd taken up running a year or two ago and did it almost religiously. Harry turned down the alley and tore after the thing, his big duster flapping out behind him. If the Beetle had had teeth he would have been gritting them in frustration at this point. Even in his current dilapidated state he could outrun a human. Well most days he could.

Harry returned several minutes later still breathing hard with sweat dripping down his face. He leaned on the car for a moment catching his breath.

"Missed him huh?" the Beetle asked.

For his part Harry slammed his open palm on the car's roof and swore. "Damn it! I had him."

"Hey! Careful of the paint, boss," the Beetle said indignantly. "It ain't my fault that thing got away."

Harry walked down the street to the corner store and went inside. A few minutes later he came back with a Coke and propped himself on the Beetle's fender waiting. It took twenty minutes for Karrin Murphy to show up. She parked in front of the Beetle and the look on her face when she got out was anything but cute.

"God Damn It, Harry!" she advanced on Dresden like she was going to rip out his spleen. "What did I tell you?"

"Murph, listen to me before..." Dresden began. She cut him off.

"Listen?" she snapped. "Listen? No you listen. I've been after this guy for a week. This could have been our first break on this case and you let him get away because you didn't do what I asked."

"I can find him," Dresden said calmly.

"You can find him?" Karrin's temper eased down a notch as her eyes narrowed. "How?"

"With these." Harry held up his hand. Dangling from his fingers were a dozen thick hairs. "I didn't know what I was going to find, Karrin. It could have been something really bad."

"I'm a cop, Harry." Karrin said. "Really bad things are what I'm supposed to be handling."

"Like Kravos?" Harry asked. Kravos had been bad news. The Beetle had seen and heard enough of what had happened involving that maniac to know that Murphy had not been able to handle Kravos or rather Kravos' ghost. Karrin's eyes took on a haunted look for a moment.

"That bad?" she asked levelly.

"With the freak accidents we've been seeing I couldn't be sure," Harry admitted. "But maybe. From what I just saw. Maybe."

* * *


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

The Beetle felt special. He had been parked just up the hill from the warehouse Dresden and Murphy had followed the trail to. Normally Dresden would have left him behind and ridden with Murphy to track this guy down but because the holder for the compass was mounted on his dashboard they had opted for the Beetle instead. Harry had plucked the compass off the dash, drawn a circle on the concrete and then done his wizard thing. Quick and dirty but you couldn't argue with the results.

Harry and Murphy had gone into the warehouse packing for bear. Harry had loaned Murphy the shotgun and had taken his staff with him. Blue had seen Harry flip a car over onto a guy once with the power he'd summoned using his staff. That had given Blue a healthy respect for the kind of power his wizard could bring to bear. Suddenly there came the muffled sound of gun fire.

"Twice in one day?" the Beetle mused. "No. Wait. Three times in one day."

The sound of the fusillade continued. As he listened growing more tense the Beetle could pick out the throatier blast of the shotgun mixing with the barks of handguns. He saw the wall bow out briefly as something about the size of man struck the inside of it.

"Go get 'em, boss!" cheered the Beetle. He knew Harry well enough to know the wizard wouldn't kill anyone with magic. That wouldn't prevent Harry from ruining someone's day. The man door down the street opened and Harry and Murphy sprang out to take cover behind an old truck. They sent several rounds back through the door and were so occupied with the fight at that end that neither of them noticed the guy slip out of the bay door with the machine gun.

"Harry!" Blue yelled as loud as he could. No good. Harry still couldn't hear him.

The machine gunner lifted the weapon to his shoulder and fired off a burst. Murphy hit the ground but Harry took a round or two in the side. He toppled over and the Beetle screamed in frustrated impotence. His wizard was down! His wizard was DOWN! He frantically looked for some way to help and then remembered what he'd done earlier to the two punks with the spray paint. Touching the panic that rested near his alternator and tapping the frustration in his transmission Blue focused on what he need to do. He shifted into neutral as the gunman stepped closer to the street. Blue was worried about the low curb but figured the gunman would at least be distracted. As the guy squeezed off another burst he saw Harry roll under the truck. Harry was alive! Blue put all his effort into the parking break now. It was a struggle but he got it to let loose. Now he was rolling. Picking up speed he rolled silently toward the gunman as Murphy came up on one knee and popped off two rounds from her automatic. The gunman ducked back but it was too late. Blue was right on top of him. Blue turned his wheels hard over and smashed the guy's leg. The Beetle was not a large car even by today's standards but he was mostly steel. Steel, for those of you who don't know, is heavy. When that much steel hits a person's leg it tends to do a whole lot of damage. The gunman went down howling in pain as Blue came to a stop on top of him. The guy soon passed out. Panting in exhaustion Blue was satisfied to stay right where he was. He could barely think with his mind swimming like this. Man! Doing the thing with the trunk hadn't been that tough but he'd focussed on doing three things in a row. That was a lot of will for the old car to summon up.

A moment later Harry rolled out from under the truck and sent a blast of wind into the warehouse that tore the door off its hinges. Murphy followed Dresden inside and shortly there after the gunfire stopped. Fifteen minutes later the two of them came out with two guys in handcuffs. Wait. Not two guys. One guy and one... Thing?

"What the fu... dge?" Blue mumbled. It was definitely the thing that had come down the fire escape. There couldn't be two of those in the city. Could there?

"I'm going to call in some of my guys to clean this mess up, Harry," Karrin said as they came up to the Beetle. "I don't think it would be a good thing for you to still be here with... Well just get him out of here and I'll figure out what to do about him later."

"I'll let you know what I come up with, Murph," Dresden told her.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Karin was looking at him with real concern.

"The duster stopped the worst of it. I'll have some bruises. That's all," Harry opened his black coat and looked inside with a wince. "Didn't even damage my shirt. What are we going to do about the guy under the car?"

"You'll have to back off him. Be careful and I'll guide you," Murphy looked at the Beetle speculatively. "You should get this jalopy checked out again. The breaks going like that could mean something bad."

"It did for that guy," Dresden grimaced at the unconscious gunman under the Beetle. "We just got lucky."

"Well I did find a penny this morning." Murphy smiled absently.

"Me too."

Karrin gave Harry a questioning look. "So?"

"Hhmm?" said Dresden. "So what?"

"You said you found a penny too. But you said it that way you say things when there is more to it than that," said Karrin.

"It just hit me is all," Dresden looked at the thing he was holding by the elbow. "It makes me wonder about something. Let me think on it before I get off track here, Murph."

"If it's important to the case you need to tell me what it is, Harry."

"I will," Dresden promised.

* * *


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"So let me get this straight," Dresden said with a note of annoyance. "Some guy comes and places a couple of bets with you that pay off."

"Paid off big," said the thing in the passenger seat. It took the Beetle a minute before he realized this was Charlie 'The Pinch' Malone.

Harry had shoved Malone none too gently into the passenger seat before he had backed off the goon with the machine gun. Blue hadn't actually been resting on the guy. He'd just run over his leg and then stopped over top of him. Murphy had stood in front guiding Harry carefully away from any tender human flesh. Once clear they had turned around and were now headed for Dresden's office. Malone had just finished telling Dresden how this all had gotten started. And because he was unable to take notes while he drove Dresden was going back over the details.

"Okay. Paid off big," Harry repeated. "This guy does it a few times and you end up asking him how he's doing it. He tells you that he's got a leprechaun and the leprechaun's pot of lucky coins. And you believed him."

"Not right away. But after a few weeks..." Malone trailed off.

"So you ask him how he did it. How he got the leprechaun. He won't tell you. So you offer to buy a couple of the coins." Dresden was shaking his head. "And this asshat sells you half a dozen of the things? How did you get enough money? I know they weren't cheap."

"I bet on the same teams he did."

"Why didn't you just stick with that?"

"He wasn't betting on anything out of state. He wasn't betting on long odds. There was some serious cash to be had. I was stupid."

"You said it," Harry was disgusted. "Then this guy stopped coming to you. Went to your competition you think. Why'd you pass the coins out?"

"Spread the wealth," Malone said. "If I kept betting and winning like that Marcone would come and have a talk with me. So I gave the coins to some guys that were in my debt. I told them if they laid bets on long odds and gave me half of the take I would forget all about what they owed."

"They owed a lot?" Dresden prodded.

"Wilson was over a hundred grand. Ritchey was about sixty grand. Colly and O'Hair were both around fifty grand. Marcone was going to have talks with each of them if they didn't come across with the money," Malone said uncomfortably.

"Where are the other two coins?" Dresden demanded.

"Safe," Malone's voice sounded surly.

"Safe?" Dresden growled. "Listen to me very carefully Pinch. People have died. Magic is involved and there are elements of this equation that you have no clue about. There are people that are going to be very interested in those coins that would keep Marcone as a pet."

Malone stared at Harry with big doe eyes. Well they were more like big donkey eyes really. The Beetle smiled at Dresden's warning knowing that his boss was telling the truth. Aside from the White Council Blue could think of half a dozen beings from the Nevernever that would literally eat Malone's soul for those coins and not even think twice.

"I got 'em stashed in an office over on Park," Malone sounded scared now.

"So why did these guys end up dead?" Dresden wanted to know.

"I don't know. Their luck ran out maybe," Malone shook his big head sending a shower of bristly hair onto the floorboard of the car.

"Hey!" the Beetle protested. "Stop that!"

"Knock that off. Car's dirty enough," said Dresden. "So when your guys start dying you do what?"

"I started looking up stuff about leprechauns. We got a pretty good library here. Ya know? I found all kinds of stuff. Found out how to trap fairies."

"You idiot," said Blue with a chuckle.

"Let me guess," Dresden said. "You went out and laid a circle trap for a fairy and didn't think twice about what could happen if you didn't make the right deal."

"I thought I could get the fairy to bring me a leprechaun. He agreed to get one for me!" Malone practically wailed. "When I woke up I felt all funny. Couldn't see right. My neck was hurting. When I went to the bathroom to get some aspirin I looked in the mirror and this is what I saw!"

"The head of a donkey is one of their favorite things to do," Dresden said dryly. For once Blue was glad nobody could hear him. He was laughing his ass off. Sort of. "People died from using those coins you handed out and you thought you could fix it by making some half assed bargain with a faery? What did you think the fae were? Some storybook, blue glowing magic, Disneyfied creatures?"

"They're so small," Malone moaned.

"You need to watch The Empire Strikes Back a few more times, Malone," Dresden snapped. "Size has nothing to do with potency! And you let the thing know where you live?"

"No. Just a rented room. Like always," Malone said gloomily. "Never had a real place. That was one thing that was going to change with the money. Guess that's out the window now too."

"You shot at a police detective in the course of her duty, Malone," Harry snorted. "You're lucky to still be breathing. Believe me. If Murphy had gotten hurt back there I would have done worse to you than give you the head of a donkey."

Blue believed him. He'd seen Harry do some scary stuff over the years and Murphy held a special place in Harry's life. He knew they'd both risked their lives for each other more than once. Blue was well aware of the look they got in their eyes sometimes. Even if they weren't.

"Okay, man. I know I screwed up. But," Malone gulped. "Am I going to be stuck like this? Can you do something about how I look?"

Harry regarded Malone for a moment. "Maybe. It depends on how it was done and if you help me to end this."

"Anything you want, man!" Malone nearly sobbed. "Anything! I'll get the coins for you. Whatever else you want. I swear."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Instead of going to Harry's office Dresden had detoured to Park Street and the office block where Malone had the coins stashed. It was nearly sunset by the time they pulled into the small parking lot in front of the squat little building. It was a simple two story cinderblock affair with plenty of glass and no class. One of the many such buildings put up back in the seventies. Most of them had either been knocked down by now or renovated into something that wasn't so much of an eyesore.

"Nice," Blue observed sarcastically.

"This is your office?" Harry asked with a note of distaste.

"For the next two months. Why?" Malone said. He didn't seem to catch Harry's tone.

"Well. I guess I've seen worse," Dresden observed.

Malone sighed tiredly. "Man, it's got four walls and the air conditioning works. The rest doesn't matter. It's not like I'm trying to impress my clients."

"Which one is it?" Dresden asked reaching for his door handle.

"There on the right," Malone pointed. "The one with the blinds drawn."

The two got out of the Beetle and headed inside. Blue had a funny feeling. He started looking around to see if he could spot anything but there was nothing. Nothing at all out of the ordinary. Just a typical Chicago evening on a typical Chicago street. Still he felt something. Something familiar. He was still looking around when he heard the first blast. His focus snapped to the little office building. Suddenly the panes blew out of Malone's windows and a figure in a black trench coat flew out and tumbled across the walkway right into the parking lot dragging the old blinds with it. Dresden followed it through the window with his shield up and blasting rod at the ready.

"Wow," Blue said bemused. "Four times in one day. That's got to be a record."

Blue felt the energy in the air fluctuate as the figure in the trench coat shook off the wrecked blinds, drew in his will and raised his own shield. Wizards were normally not stupid enough to duel in public but it seemed this was a special case. The guy actually drew a wand at this point. Wands were generally sneered at by people of Dresden's level who favored foci such as blasting rods or staves. That didn't mean wands weren't potentially dangerous items. It's sort of the difference between using a .45 automatic and .22 revolver. The .45 is really impressive and will definitely get the job done but a .22 will kill you just as dead.

"Stop there, Dresden!" trench coat said none too steadily.

"Monaghan," Dresden sounded puzzled. "What the hell, man?"

"Long story. I want those coins back," Monaghan said still shaky. "You're going to get them to me."

"I don't have the coins, Monaghan," Dresden said. "And why would I give them to you anyway?"

Monaghan let his wand drop to dangle on a strap around his wrist but his shield stayed up. He reached into his coat and came out with a small cage. Blue could see thin black bars laced with what looked like silver. In the cage was a tiny shape no larger than an action figure. It had little wings like those of a dragonfly. Dresden's eyes went narrow and mayhem flickered in them.

"Bring me the coins, Dresden. Tonight. If you don't your little friend is going to die a pretty terrible little death," Monaghan sounded much more confident all of a sudden.

"Toot, are you okay?" Dresden addressed the cage. Blue recognized Toot Toot. He was a faery that Harry had used to get information for various cases over the last few years.

"Get me out of here, Harry!" the little faery pleaded. "It burns!"

"Don't do anything foolish, Dresden," Monaghan warned. "Try taking me out and this cage will shrink so fast the only thing you'll be able to do is sweep his ashes into a dustbin."

"You're in enough trouble as it is, Monaghan. You really don't want to do this."

"I haven't broken any of the Seven Laws. Even if I kill this fae the Council won't do anything to me. He's not human. Bring the coins to..." Monaghan paused trying to think of some place to make the exchange. "Bring them to the old little league park on Spring Avenue. You give me the coins and I'll give you the cage. No harm done."

"Four men are dead because they used those coins. I think that's plenty of harm," Dresden said. Blue thought Harry was stalling for time. In his experience Blue had seen Harry pull some pretty fancy tricks while stalling. Normally it was to get the bad guy to stand still long enough for someone to club him over the head. But there wasn't anyone around to do that this time. Harry must be trying for information then.

"They pushed their luck too far. I didn't kill them, Dresden. And there is more to the coins than luck. Don't mess with me or you'll find out just how much more," the look that passed over Monaghan's face when he said this was one akin to lust. "The ball park. Tonight at midnight. That gives you about five hours to get the coins."

Monaghan took a couple furtive steps back and then turned and ran. Dresden let his shield go and dropped his arms. If looks could kill Monaghan would have been pasted all over the pavement in a very thin layer of goo. Malone stuck his donkey head out of the building's main door and blinked owlishly.

"Is the coast clear?" Malone asked softly.

"Does your phone work, Charlie?" growled Dresden.

"Sure. Bill's paid."

"I need to make a call," Dresden turned and went back through the window.

They were headed for Dresden's apartment now. Harry and Malone had come out of the office after a few minutes and gotten into the car. Malone wasn't in the handcuffs anymore and he was glancing uncertainly at a scowling and brooding Dresden. Blue had seen Harry like this many times. He knew the sorts of thoughts that were going through his wizard's mind at the moment.

"Why'd you call Marcone?" Malone finally asked.

"You heard the conversation," Harry said curtly.

"Why do you think he's got the coins?" Malone pursued.

"He sent me to find you. He knew what was going on and he knew that the coins existed," Harry said. "Who else would have them? Who else would even have believed they were real?"

"Why'd you tell him to show up tonight?" Malone persisted.

"We need the coins back. I don't think Marcone understands all of the elements in play right now. He'll play it cautious. He wants to use those two coins but he also has enough savvy to realize that he doesn't understand how best to use them. He'll be wanting some answers and if he thinks they are more of a liability than an asset he'll get rid of them."

"Why does Monaghan want them so much?" Malone asked. "And who is Monaghan anyway? I just know him from when he placed those bets. Is he a wizard like you?"

"Not like me," Harry shook his head. "Not in my class. He was throwing around a lot of power back there though. More than he ever exhibited during any of his trials."

"Trials?" Malone asked.

Harry glanced at him and paused before he spoke. "There are various levels of being a wizard. I'm in the top one percent. Monaghan is in the top five percentile range. At least he used to be. Now he's packing more of a punch. If you think about it in terms of the martial arts I would be a black belt. Monaghan would be like a brown belt. Now, though, he's throwing around enough power that he's acting like a black belt."

"So what's that tell us?" Malone asked.

"'Us' is it now?" Blue snorted.

"What he said about there being more to the coins makes me think he discovered a way to tap into their power. That makes him pretty dangerous," Harry scowled out at the road. "I'm wondering how he got the coins in the first place. Are you sure he said he had a leprechaun and his pot of coins?"

"That's what he told me. You figure he lied?"

"Don't take this personal, Malone, but I don't think he would tell you that to impress you," Harry said. "He built that little cage to hold Toot. He might have figure out a way to trap a leprechaun. He wasn't acting like he was capable of that though. I've known Monaghan for a few years in a professional sense. He was always a bit smug about his abilities. But around me he was always a little defensive. He reminded me of those kids in school who tell you they'd go out for the track team but they don't think it would be challenging enough. There's always an excuse for their shortcomings."

Blue understood what that meant. Monaghan had not been quite up to snuff to join the White Council of wizards. That must have stuck in his craw. Blue knew Monaghan was better than ninety-five percent of the practitioners in the world. But he wasn't good enough to be recognized as a real wizard. His use of a wand instead of a blasting rod or a staff showed that he didn't have the requisite skill to make such an enchantment powerful enough to use as a foci for his offensive magic. Wands were much simpler and less powerful but most practitioners couldn't make a wand. He was better than most but the failure to make the council must have stung.

"Yeah. I know the type," Malone said shifting his eyes to the floorboard. Blue wondered if Malone had been one of those kids Harry was talking about. "What do we do now, Mr. Dresden?"

"I'm going to talk to a skull and get a few answers," Harry said with a fierce, grim smile. "Then I'm going to ruin someone's day."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Midnight. The city around Blue was all shadow and light. Stark contrasts that hid untold things of beauty and dread. He could sense the unease of the men in him. They were keyed up for action. Malone kept licking his lips nervously which kept sending little dribbles of donkey saliva onto Blue's floorboard. It was gross but Harry was too focused on what he was planning to take notice.

"You're clear on what you have to do?" Dresden asked as they pulled into the parking lot of the little league field.

"Yeah. I know," Malone replied with yet another lick of his lips.

Dresden shut off the engine and taking his staff, got out. Malone took a couple of deep breaths and did likewise. The two men walked to the edge of the field and a shape shimmered and coalesced into Monaghan standing on the pitcher's mound.

"You're punctual, Dresden," Monaghan said trying to sound more sure of himself than he was.

"I used to deliver pizza in thirty minutes or less," Dresden said flatly. Blue had heard him use better lines but the set up hadn't been all that good either. "Let's see the cage."

Monaghan produced the small cage with Toot still inside it. The faery light was a little dimmer than usual. Perhaps that was caused by the cage or it could have been Toot's condition. Either way he was still trapped.

"The coins?" Monaghan said.

"Right here," Dresden produced two metallic discs between finger and thumb. Then he walked out to the mound like a manager going to council with his pitcher. As Dresden stepped onto the mound Monaghan eased off the far side with his hands slightly raised as if unsure how close he wanted Harry to get.

"That's far enough, Dresden. Let me see the coins." Monaghan said. Reaching into his pocket he came out with a small flash light. He snapped it on and flashed it right into Harry's eyes. As Harry threw up his hand to shield his face Monaghan dropped down and quickly touched the dirt of the pitcher's mound. Blue felt the snap of a containment circle and saw the flickering sparks of an inexpertly crafted spell.

"You bastard!" snapped Dresden.

"What?" Monaghan nearly laughed. "Did you think I was stupid enough to let a wizard of the White Council come up to me and maybe throw some kind of spell? Was I supposed to just accept that you would stick to our agreement? Not just no, Dresden. Hell no! I didn't come this far to end up in the hands of the Wardens. I doubt they would have done anything to me but then again they might. You'd know more about that sort of thing than me."

"Let the faery go," Dresden growled. "Do you really think your circle has enough power to hold me?"

"Yeah, Dresden. I think that," Monaghan snapped back. "I think I've got enough power right now to be more than a match for you or any ten wizards you could name. Now where are the real coins?"

"Right here you idiot," Dresden spat.

"Those?" Monaghan really did laugh this time. "That's a couple of washers with a glamour on them. Nice try but we're way past parlor tricks. Three seconds, Dresden."

Blue watched as Monaghan lifted the little cage up in front of himself and glowered at Harry. Monaghan was shaking like a junky ready for his next fix. Suddenly that familiar feeling crept up on Blue again. He couldn't quite place it but he knew that it had been there at the office on Park and he was certain he'd felt it before that. Could it be Monaghan calling up power? That didn't sound right but Blue had never been around anyone tapping into the power from leprechaun gold before.

"You really don't want to play it like this, Monaghan," Dresden warned.

"Yeah? I think I do," Monaghan scowled at Harry. He screwed up his face in concentration and the cage shrank ever the slightest bit. Inside Toot Toot screamed in sudden fright and pain. "The coins! Now!"

"I warned you," Harry's voice was low and deadly. Mayhem had returned to the light in his eyes. Blue was almost physically quivering from the stress. He felt he had to do something to help but what? With unexpected speed Dresden drove his staff diagonally into the dirt at the edge of Monaghan's circle.

"_Ventas servitas!_" Dresden shouted. The ground around the tip of his staff burst like a miniature bomb. Wind rushed up and carried the little cage out of Monaghan's grasp right to Malone. Monaghan panicked. He forgot all about Harry and rushed after the cage. Malone had the cage in one hand and heavy lineman's pliers in the other. He was working the jaws through the fine silver laced bars even as Monaghan tackled him. The two went down in a heap of kicking legs and scrabbling hands. They rolled across the ground and finally came to a stop. Monaghan was on top and wrenched the damaged cage from the bookie's grip. He was grinning wildly holding the cage away from the smaller man beneath him. Then he was blinded by lights and noise. Blue had finally seen his chance to help. He had thrown his will into getting his lights on high beam and inadvertently sent feed back through his horn which hadn't worked in over a year. Now with the sudden noise and light to distract Monaghan, Malone snatched the cage back and pealed the top open.

Looking up with wide eyes Monaghan gasped in a voice that had gone two octaves higher, "Oh SHIT!"

Toot shot from the ruined cage and hovered a few feet above Monaghan's head. His nimbus was glowing so bright it was painful for eyes to look upon. The glare of Blue's high beams was as nothing to the flare of the enraged faery.

"Timothy Alan Monaghan," Toot roared in a voice that was far to loud to come from such a small thing. "You have pained me! You imprisoned me! You INSULTED me!"

Malone might not have been the smartest of guys but he knew when something god awfully bad was going down. The bookie scrambled out from under Monaghan and ran into the dark. For his part the rogue practitioner could only stare at what was coming.

"For all these woes I damn thee!" Toot screamed. There was a sudden flash of light and where Monaghan had been crouching on the turf there was now a very confused looking black pig. "Be thou the swine you truly are until you have suffered as I have."

If Blue had had eyes he would have blinked. "Damn. Remind me never to piss off a faery."

"Charles David Malone," Toot called into the darkness. "I return you to what you were."

With those last words Toot threw a salute to Harry and shot off into the night. Harry stepped off the pitcher's mound and strolled over to the Blue Beetle. He reached in and switched off the lights then jiggled the wires under the steering wheel until the horn shut off. By the time he turned back to the field three figures were coming across the lawn.

"I'm back," Malone stammered unbelieving as he touched his rather ordinary human face.

"Glad you could show up, John," Dresden said to one of the men accompanying Malone. The other was Hendricks.

"Good evening, Mr. Dresden," Marcone said with a casual smile. "You told me you would demonstrate the reason I should hand the coins over to you. As I see it that reason just flew off into the night."

"That?" Dresden gestured in the direction Toot Toot had flown. "That was only a faery. You're going to have a leprechaun to deal with pretty soon."

"Really?" Marcone didn't quite scoff.

"Aye, laddy," Said a voice from the darkness. Out of one of the dugouts stepped a small, wizened little figure in a red sports jacket and a red ball cap. "I'll be having me coins back if ye please."

Hendricks took two long strides and interposed himself between his boss and the small person.

"Hendricks, I wouldn't do that if I were you," Harry warned in a low, serious tone. "He CAN kill you with magic."

"Aye, big mhan," confirmed the leprechaun. "An' I will too."

Hendricks looked down at the small creature then back to his employer. Marcone waved him aside.

"It seems that these coins will be of less value than I had hoped," Marcone produced two cardboard backers like the ones collectors would store their rare finds in. He gave a brief smile to Dresden then handed them to Hendricks with a motion toward the leprechaun. Hendricks in turn very carefully handed the things to the small creature.

"Thankee, kind hosts," the leprechaun said with a tip of his hat.

"You'll be wanting this one too," Harry said pulling the penny from his pocket. "I don't know where the others are."

"Nay, Master Dresden. Keep that as a memento," the leprechaun said. "I've attended to t'other coins a'ready."

With another tip of his hat and a wink the leprechaun turned to leave.

"Why did you give me this?" Dresden asked before it could disappear.

"Fer good luck o'course, Master Dresden."

Harry half smiled with a raised eyebrow. "Well... Thanks. And thanks too for the lights and horn. It helped."

"Lights an' horn?" the leprechaun was puzzled. "Nay. Not I, Master Dresden. It was just luck."

The leprechaun with a knowing smile turned again and disappeared into the dark.

"I suppose I should thank you, _Master_ Dresden, for looking out for my interests," Marcone said laconically.

"I'm just glad those coins are off the street, John," Harry replied. "Come on, Charlie. I'll buy you a cup of coffee before we go see Detective Murphy."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Murphy met them at the Waffle House. Dresden was leaning against the fender sipping his coffee. Malone was standing somewhat forlornly by the bumper. And Karrin stood in front of Dresden with her own coffee keeping an eye on Malone. Blue was checking out the wheels on a nice looking Ford Ranger.

"So the coins all came from this (I can't believe I'm saying this.) leprechaun's pot of gold?" Karrin asked skeptically.

"Yep," Harry said. "The best I can figure is that after they used the coins for a certain amount of time or for a certain number of bets they ran out of whatever power the coins have for influencing the outcome of any given situation. When they kept on using them that power turned on them. It worked like a miniature entropy curse. Only the people using the coins were affected by them."

"So as far as my investigation goes; these really were just a series of bizarre accidents," Murphy mused.

"Pretty much," Harry said. "Think of them kinda like you would a drug over dose. They just pushed things too far."

Murphy looked at Malone. "He still shot at us. I don't have a choice about the arrest."

Malone looked at his shoes. "I know. For what it's worth. I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" Murphy snorted. She wasn't big into forgiving stuff like nearly killing her. She turned back to Harry. "So why did you walk into his trap?"

"I knew he was going to try something," Harry sipped his coffee and went on. "I figured I'd get him comfortable. He'd been setting traps for the fae. I figured he try it on me too."

"And he did," Murphy smiled appreciatively. "How'd you get out of it?"

"I didn't," Harry smiled up at her.

"Yes you did," Malone asserted. "I saw you."

Harry looked at him. "I didn't get out of his circle until after Toot had done his thing. What you saw was me drive the tip of my staff through the dirt under the edge of his circle. Once I did that I could use my power outside the circle. Most practitioners will create a field that either closes off the trapped individual in three dimensions or create what amounts to a tube that goes on forever. Either way they have a trap that's pretty tough to get out of. Guys like Monaghan just don't understand that sort of thing very well. They think too much in the physical world. His trap ended where it met the ground. I let him think he had me until I knew for sure he didn't."

"What are you planning to do with that?" Karrin asked pointing at the little black pig tied to the bumper. The pig looked up at her and then to Dresden.

"Well... I do like bacon," a wicked smile creased Dresden's face. The pig stood suddenly and squealed. "I know a guy that has a farm in the Ozarks . Since we don't know how long the enchantment will last and if we try to break it we could kill him; the best we can do is keep him safe until we can figure out what to do with him."

"Well it's been interesting as usual," Karrin sighed. "I still think you should take your car into the shop and have it looked at. Breaks, transmission, lights, horn... All those going on the fritz like that sounds like real problems."

Blue perked up his ears at that. Well. Sort of. He wasn't sure if he'd just been insulted or not.

"The Beetle is fine, Murph," Dresden assured her.

"Harry," Karrin was shaking her head. "Why don't you get a new car?"

Harry looked over his shoulder at the Beetle and gave Blue a familial rub. "Because the Blue Beetle is my car. MY car, Karrin. Mine."

Blue's spirit soared at the words. No, Harry couldn't hear him. No, Harry didn't know that he was aware. But Harry liked him. Maybe even loved him. Blue felt warm all the way down to his solenoid. He was beaming. In a figurative sense this time.

Murphy loaded Malone into her car and Harry loaded Monaghan into the Beetle and they parted company. The Blue Beetle was practically purring on the way back to the old rooming house. As they rolled into the parking lot there was a car in the Beetle's usual spot. Dresden frowned but said nothing as he parked next to it. Blue was eyeing it a bit but the events of the evening had him in a forgiving mood. Besides; she was cute for a '72 Maverick.

"Nice wheels," Blue mutter contentedly.

"What?" The Maverick said.

Life does have certain rewards.

**Authors Note:** This story was not originally intended to be a multi chapter story. Between the first reviews and my own inclination after I had posted the first chapter, I found myself wondering what the rest of the story would be. I came up with a plot that pretty quickly was running it's course and nearly ran out of steam after chapter eight. Thanks to Nytd I re-examined my plot holes and this is the result. Never under estimate the value of your plot holes. I found my real villain lurking in one.

I want to thank everyone who reviewed. In this case especially, you contributed a great deal to this story. You did that by telling me that you liked it and you wanted me to continue. Our eponymous hero would have languished in utter obscurity had you not done so. Please go out and have your favorite beverage as a reward. I would buy it for you but you all live very far away from me and I don't actually know who you are. Never the less: Thank you all very much.

I do not know if I will take the Beetle out for another spin. Keep your eyes pealed though. It could happen. In the mean time why don't you click on the reviews and follow the links to other authors who liked this story? Read some of their work. I'm going to.

Stutley Constable


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